Whitehorse
Whitehorse hosts an incredible singletrack trail system, hundreds of connected miles. Sarah Heck collected trail and logistics advice from Anchorage friends (especially Liz and Skip), summarized below. We camped at Wolf Creek (12$) because it was cheaper and quieter than Robert Service Campground (20$, but you can ride from camp). You can also camp in gravel pits along the road to Sima Mountain, but the bugs were worse.
Riverdale
I was pretty jealous of the folks that live in the Riverdale neighborhood; the access is incredible. The trail map is available for sale at Icycle Sport, the bike shop near the major grocery store in Whitehorse. Trails near Chadburn Lake (south) and along the Yukon River (Miles Canyon) are more scenic, though Juicy and neighbors have several built features. Trails along Grey Mountain road are more technical and steeper. The Bugaboo trails were a blast, smooth pine needle floors, a lot of ramps and other features. The Bugaboos and the 3000 vertical ft. run from the summit of Grey Mountain to Chadburn Lake (Money Shot –> Easy Money –> FBS (?) –> Juicy) were my favorites. Swimming in Chadburn lake was a perfect finish.
Mt. McIntyre
Mt. McIntyre is the nordic trail system west of Whitehorse. Maps and trail information here but a more recent map was available behind the Nordic Center (opposite side from the parking lot). I thought these were the best trails in Whitehorse- they’ve clearly been developed for biking. Trails vary from scenic to technical. Most trails have a few built features. My favorite descent was Calypso Canyon. The best scenic loop was Can Can to Porcupine Ridge, back via Logan and the 24 hour trail. The bike park is awesome and definitely helped my technique.
Carcross
Less than an hour from Whitehorse, Carcross and Montana Mountain are worth visiting for the scenery alone. Trail information and map here. You can pay for a shuttle up the single access road. Wayne and Jane are the contacts, you will run into them.
There is a campground in Carcross, but it looked pretty crappy. We camped at Nares Lake, 10 miles from town. Directly after the 90 km marker (and 1 km from the finish of the Mountain Hero trail) there is a gravel road that winds down to several lakeside camp sites. All the sites were full on the weekend, better to claim a spot early in the day.
Mountain Hero is the classic scenic option (and wins best name award). It was a 5 hour loop up loose gravel roads and down 3000 feet of switchbacks to Nares Lake. The ride is worth it for the scenery, the downhill is fun, but it feels like biking a hiking trail. The switchback corners were hard to predict. McDonald Creek is the other scenic option. The loop took 3 hours, and the flow through pine forest was some of the best I’ve experienced. The bottom of the trail (Wayne’s World) is under construction and was soft and confusing.
The other trails we rode were all accessed by biking 30 minutes up the gravel road. I loved all the ‘advanced’ trails, tons of built features through granite boulders. The boulder fields were very forgiving with a lot of options. The trail crews (mostly local youth through the Carcross/Tagish First Nations Singletrack to Success program) did an incredible job; these trails are an absolute blast. There were several trails we didn’t get to, with more being actively developed. I can’t wait to head back!